Page 45 of Only Cold Depths
We both fell silent, lost in our thoughts.
Asterin reached underneath another tarp, grabbed a glass box, plucked out the device inside, and placed it on the table. The device resembled an old-fashioned wristwatch—a wide silver band that wrapped around a small holoscreen that featured tiny bits of lunarium and sapphsidian.
I let out a low whistle of appreciation. “You built one of the temperature-shielding watches? When?”
“Turns out husband hunting takes up an inordinate amount of time. Once my mother and stepfather asked me to return to Sygnustern, I had plenty of time to work on the watch.”
“Well, I certainly had the time to build one, since Kyrion and I have basically been trapped on board theDream Worldfor the last few weeks, but I didn’t have all the materials,” I groused.
Asterin smirked. “Oh, I’m sure you and Kyrion were working onotherthings.”
A hot blush scalded my cheeks. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Please. I was at the midnight ball, remember? I saw how hard you and Kyrion fought to reach each other, and now the two of you have been traveling together on a blitzer for the last few weeks. It’s like an episode of a romance serial.” Asterin let out a loud, dramatic sigh and clutched her hands to her heart, as though she was about to swoon.
My blush burned a little hotter. “What about you?” I asked, desperate to change the subject. “Do you admire any of the Erzton lords?”
Asterin’s smirk vanished, replaced by a sour expression. “Nope. Most of them are as puffed-up, pompous, and self-important as all the Regals on Corios. All the Erzton lords are interested in is forging a connection with House Collier or exploring the mineral rights I own. None of them cares about me as a person.”
She shrugged as though the knowledge didn’t bother her, but a sad, wistful note rasped through her voice. I had a sneaking suspicion Asterin Armas’s tough exterior was hiding a dreamy, romantic heart.
“But focusing on alliances and resources is pretty common when it comes to Erzton marriages, just like it is in Regal society,” Asterin continued. “That was certainly my experience with House Zimmer, and especially with Zane. That pompous jackass only cares about himself.”
Her lips curled back in revulsion, but after a few seconds, she winced. “Sorry. I keep forgetting Zane is your brother.”
I mimicked her earlier shrug, trying to slough off all the uncomfortable emotions that scraped my insides raw whenever someone mentioned Zane. “He’s my brother in DNA only. If Zane catches me, he’ll shock me into submission, slap some plasticuffs on my wrists, and drag me back to Corios.”
Even as I said the words, a bit of hope flared in my heart like a match trying to sputter to life in a rainstorm. Despite everything Zane had done, a teeny-tiny part of me still wanted to believe my being his sister actuallymeantsomething to Zane, even though he was the very epitome of an arrogant Regal lord.
“I’m sorry,” Asterin said. “I didn’t mean to stir up bad memories.”
“It’s not your fault. Unfortunately, bad memories are all I have when it comes to my family.”
Asterin’s gaze strayed back over to the air purifier. “I have a lot of bad memories too,” she confessed in a low, strained voice. “But sometimes I think the good memories are the hardest ones to bear because they just remind you of everything you lost, everything that was taken away in an instant.”
My seer magic stirred to life, and another image of Asterin appeared, shimmering in the air like a hologram. The second Asterin was also wearing gray coveralls, but she was a teenager, with long black braids trailing down over her shoulders. She was slumped against one of the workshop tables, clutching a cracked, grimy miner’s helmet.
Tears streamed down young Asterin’s face, and her choked sobs rang in my ears, even though I hadn’t even been here when she had been crying in real life. Her grief and heartbreak were so strong they made my head spin and my chest tighten, and I had to clutch the table for support.
“Vesper?” Asterin asked in a concerned voice. “Are you okay?”
I blinked. The younger, sobbing version of Asterin vanished, and the dizziness and tightness also faded from my body.
I straightened up. “I’m fine. Let’s get to work.”
Asterin hesitated, then waved her hand, activating the holoscreen, which scanned the temperature-shielding wristwatch. She fell silent, but her long-ago sobs continued to ring in my ears like a bell chiming out a mournful song.
I knew that kind of pain all too well, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had really happened to Asterin’s father—and why my seer magic kept whispering a warning that my friend was headed for even more heartbreak in the future.
CHAPTER TWELVE
VESPER
Theholoscreenfinishedscanningthe temperature-shielding wristwatch. Asterin dug her fingers into the resulting holograms, enlarging each image. We looked at every single piece of the wristwatch, along with the accompanying schematics, and started tossing out ideas about what the Techwave might do with the climate-control tech.
Asterin might claim she wasn’t an inventor or engineer, but she was just as smart, skilled, and insightful as any of the Quill Corp lab rats, and she came up with several theories I hadn’t considered.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked. “We haven’t figured anything out yet.”
